A Buddhist perspective on how complex graphs, statistical jargon, and ideological shortcuts can silence dissent and oversimplify society’s real diversity.
Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of claims like, “Japan has terrible gender inequality!” or “Traditional gender roles are causing more people to stay unmarried and fewer children to be born!” Often these arguments lean heavily on statistical data — Lorenz curves, Gini coefficients, and the like — to declare, “This society is fundamentally wrong.”
But when you actually read these articles, something feels off. They’re full of convincing numbers, jargon, and appeals to authority. But is that really what “truth” looks like?
The Anatomy of a Convincing Sophistry
- Statistics as a Thought-Stopping Device
Is a high Gini coefficient proof of inequality? Is it really?
The Gini coefficient simply measures the unevenness of a distribution. It doesn’t inherently say, “Difference equals bad.” When articles use it to scream, “This is abnormal! Japan is the worst!” — that’s when you should pause.
For example, the high rate of non-working married women is often declared to be the result of oppression. But maybe it’s the outcome of family discussions and consensual decisions. To shout, “This is gender discrimination!” without considering the context behind the numbers feels reckless. - Beware the Magic of Jargon
PIAAC, OECD, Lorenz curve… When you see expert terminology piled on, it can make you think, “Wow, this must be true.” But that’s a rhetorical trick that uses complexity to claim authority.
And if the conclusion is a simple line like, “Marriage harms women’s income, therefore fewer women marry,” isn’t that a little too simplistic? - The Violence of Equating Difference with Wrong
From a Buddhist perspective, everyone lives under different circumstances. Differences are not inherently matters of right or wrong. In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, good people and bad people alike are ordinary beings full of passions and flaws, saved equally without ranking.
Yet to say, “Differences are bad,” or “Old roles must be broken,” is itself a form of modern judgment. - The Intoxication of One’s Own Righteousness
Articles that end with “We can’t go back to the past, so we must move forward” often have the power to silence dissent.
But is that really progress?
Look at the aftermath when the Hussein regime was toppled, under the belief that democracy would take root. What remained was chaos, violence, and extremist groups. History is full of examples where imposing values leads to even greater turmoil.
Social systems and culture can’t just be torn down with a shout of “Freedom now!” without listening to what those affected actually think and feel.
As a Buddhist practitioner, I want to say this
The heart that judges others by asking, “Who gains, who loses?” — this blaming attitude is the very root of delusion.
Before proclaiming “End gender discrimination” or “Achieve equality,” first reflect on how much you view the world through the eyes of judgment toward others. This self-examination is the true starting point.
True equality does not come from finding happiness through comparison, but from acknowledging one’s own flaws, realizing that everyone walks a similar path of confusion, and living with gratitude for the Buddha’s wisdom that illuminates our ordinary selves as we wander together. In short, it begins with a heart that accepts the present moment.
A Thought from an Ordinary Person (The Punchline)
Instead of twisting clever arguments to silence others, it’s far more constructive to sit humbly before Amida Buddha and reflect on one’s own shortcomings.
After all, no matter how grand our words, we humans get cranky when hungry. To claim the “rightness” of others — well, that’s just impossible.
At such times, brew some tea, enjoy a sweet treat, and laugh at yourself thinking,
“Ah, I got carried away by my passions again.”
That kind of breathing room is what society — and our hearts — truly need.
For Japanese readers:
This story is also available in Japanese.
↓ 日本語版は（note）へ
ローレンツ曲線にご用心──数字と横文字で人を黙らせる詭弁論法
https://note.com/makijaku7676/n/n2cdabcd33b64?sub_rt=share_pw
まきじゃくのnote
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